X-Men: The MutantHuman War
by Sinister2004
Summary: This story takes place on a very different world and finds our X-Men in a very different place. They are not lead by Charles Xavier, but instead are under the dual leadership of Magneto and Cassandra Xavier. Together the two of them find themselves trying to navigate their X-Men through a world filled with empires. Sinister and Shadow King watch them cautiously...
1. Chapter 1

X-Men: The Human/Mutant War

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Sinister

Territory: North America and South America

Generals: Xavier, Jean Grey, Vulcan and Mystique

Group Assets: The Omega Gang, The Brotherhood, The Elite and The Acolytes

The Shadow King

Territory: Middle East and North Africa

Generals: Storm, Callisto, Belladonna and Forge

Group Assets: The Guild, The Forsaken and The Animals

The Human High Council

Territory: Europe and Antarctica

Generals: Steve Rogers, Brian Braddock and Yukio

Group Assets: The Avengers, Force Works, and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Wakandan Confederacy

Territory: Those parts of Africa not ruled by Shadow King

Generals: Doctor Crocodile, Askari, Shuri and Erik Killmonger

Group Assets: The Defenders, The Midnight Sons and The Black Panthers

The Inhuman Nation

Territory: Asia and Australia

Generals: Black Bolt, Medusa and Crystal

Group Assets: The Inhuman Royal Guard and Starwatch

_In this world of empires and war, the X-Men led by Magneto and Cassandra Xavier fight to end the tyranny being caused by all sides. They seem to be the last true heroes fighting in this world, but what can their small numbers do against such large forces? Despite the obstacles, Magneto and Cassandra are determined to not give up! _


	2. Chapter 2

**X-Men: The Human/Mutant War**

**Presenting…The Team Rosters (* denotes an original character)**

**SINISTER**

**Omega Gang**

- Basilisk

- Psylocke

- Kamau *

- Chemistra *

-Petra

**The Brotherhood**

- Blob

-Iceman

-Fatale

-Tempus

-Astra

**The Elite**

- Monet

- Shiva*

- Sunspot

- Wraith

- Wicked

**The Acolytes**

- Daken

- Random

- Risque

- Empath

- Sauron

**THE SHADOW KING**

**The Guild**

- Belladonna

- Mortis

- Senyaka

- Orphan

- Mondo

- Chamber

**The Forsaken**

- Callisto

- Quicksilver

- Sauron

- Sunspot

- Eli Bard

- Mimic

-Caliban

**The Animals**

- Forge

- Marrow

- Garrison Katar*

- X-23

- Sage

- Omega Red

**THE HUMAN HIGH COUNCIL**

**The Council**

- Moira McTaggert

- Otto Octavius

- Norman Osborn

- Tony Stark

- Baron Von Strucker

- Maria Hill

- Alexander Pierce

- Lord Shingen

- Reed Richards

**The Avengers**

- The Captain (Steve Rogers)

- Deathlok

- War Machine

- Siege

- Hawkeye

- Black Widow

- Mockingbird

**Force Works**

- Camelot (Brian Braddock)

- The Black Knight

- Proteus

- Lord Hawk

- Garrison Kane

- Blade

- Spitfire

**S.H.I.E.L.D. **

- Nick Fury

- G.W. Bridge

- Miguel Reyes

- Sharon Carter

- Alisande Morales

- Viper

- The Winter Soldier

- Mariko Yashida

**THE INHUMANS**

**The Inhuman Royal Guard**

- Maximus

- Gorgon

- Alaris

- Ealek

- Drive

- Ulysses Dragonblood

**Starwatch**

- Ronan the Accuser

- Ahura

- Triton

- Lash

- Vinatos

- Chynae

**THE WAKANDAN CONFEDERACY**

**The Defenders**

- Gentle

- Doctor Crocodile

- White Tiger (Kasper Kole)

- Goliath (Bill Foster)

- Moses Magnum

- Klaw

- Brother Voodoo

**The Midnight Sons**

- White Wolf

- Misty Knight

- Luke Cage

- Nightshade

- Jimmy Woo

- Namora

- Centurious

**The Black Panthers**

- Morlun

- Shuri

- Death Tiger

- Ka-Zar

- Falcon

- Queen Divine Justice

**THE X-MEN**

**The Amazing X-Men (Red Team)**

- Cyclops

- Havok

- Jubilee

- Husk

- Skin

- Magik

- Cypher

**The Uncanny X-Men (Blue Team) **

- Sabretooth

- Moonstar

- Rictor

- Darkstar

- Synch

- Omega White

- Omega Black

**The Astonishing X-Men (Gold Team)**

- Warpath

- Armor

- Frenzy

- Unus

- Valentine (Christian Frost)

- Quill

- Shadowcat

**The Extreme X-Men (Silver Team)**

- Astrid Bloom

- Wolverine

- Siryn

- Hellion

- Feral

- Thornn

- Nightcrawler

**The Astounding X-Men (Copper Team)**

- Jetstream

- Pulsar (Joseph)

- Deadpool

- Doctor Nemesis

- Darwin

- Timeline (Kiden Nixon)

- Archangel

**The Spectacular X-Men**

- Scarlet Witch

- Mercury

- Karma

- Anole

- Frenzy

- Zero

- Tempo

**The Fantastic X-Men **

- Gambit

- Rogue

- The White Queen

- Polaris

- Domino

-Northstar

- X-Treme


	3. Chapter 3

**X-Men: The Human/Mutant War**

**Chapter One**

**Part One- Sinister's Generals**

Jean Grey's high black heels clicked along the white linoleum floor. A dark smile was etched across her face as she approached Xavier, long her greatest rival for the affection of their master. Floating in a telekinetic bubble above her was a prisoner that Sinister had long waited for the opportunity to speak with. Jean would have torn Alicia Master's mind apart on her own, but she knew that Sinister would want the pleasure for himself. She could almost squeal with how angry Xavier looked.

"Don't so look excited Jean. It's just one human rebel," Xavier said, his hands folded behind his back. He started to walk with Jean down the hall as they made their way to Sinister's throne room.

The city that now served as Sinister's home had been once been the capital of the former American government. Washington D.C. had been built on the backs of slaves. It now only seemed fitting that this would be from where Sinister chained down humanity forever. They had deserved what the war brought about by Sinister's rise. That was one thing Jean and Xavier could find themselves agreeing on. Their loyalty to Sinister was the only reason they hadn't torn each other apart.

"This one human rebel is a spy for The Human High Council. I'm sure she'll be able to provide us information about their operations here in our territory," Jean said, looking up at the unconscious blonde in the pink telekinetic bubble. She wanted to make sure she was around when Sinister started torturing the flatscan.

"The Human High Council and whatever backward plans they have should not be our concern. We need to be focused on The Inhuman Nation," Xavier said as they turned a corner, the path to Sinister's throne straight ahead. They could already hear Vulcan and Mystique conversing with their master. "The Inhumans have alien technology. It makes them a substantial threat."

"As do the humans in The Savage Land or have you forgotten about that?" Jean asked as Alicia started to moan inside of her prison.

"Rumors at best. My intelligence about The Inhuman Nation has been confirmed," Xavier said, stopping any further conversation as they came into the presence of Sinister.

Their white-skinned master was sitting atop a large throne of black spikes tipped in red. It put him at least five feet high than anyone else in the room. He looked thoughtfully upon Jean and Xavier as they bowed before him. Rubbing a black hand under his chin and through his beard, he said, "I see you have come bearing gifts Grey."

"A human rebel. We believe she's the one responsible for the power generator explosion in Atlanta," Grey replied, floating the telekinetic bubble right to the bottom step leading up to Sinister's throne. Jean released the bubble and Alicia hit the ground hard enough to wake her up out of her telepathically induced unconsciousness.

She looked up and saw the red eyes of Sinister staring down on her. Alicia bit down on her jaw and a short, red-haired woman behind her started to laugh. The High Council spy recognized her as Jean Grey, one of Sinister's generals. Alicia tried to bite down on her jaw again.

"I removed the little cyanide pill they put in your tooth. You're not dying so easily," Grey said.

Sinister smiled and leaned forward in his throne. "So with that matter out of the way, why don't we talk about The Ultron Project?"

**Part Two- The Council**

Alexander Pierce stood up to the podium that put him in front of the rest of The Human High Council. He hated being here in Paris and much preferred the battlefront, but politics had put him into this position. And in today's world you just helped however you were asked to. After Jonah Jameson was assassinated by The Wakandan Confederacy, Alexander had been nominated to fill his role. Being on The Council was a dangerous prospect because it put you immediately on the hit list of The Wakandans and Sinister. Only out of necessity were they managing to keep good relations with The Shadow King and The Inhumans.

He rubbed a hand through his dirty blonde hair and tapped the microphone before speaking. "Hello everyone. I'll try to keep this short so I can answer as many of your questions as I can. We're not doing so well in Anarctica. The Wakandans are giving us more than we expected. General Fisk is holding The Savage Land so far but Shuri is a hell of a commander. Killmonger knew what he was doing when he sent her down there. If the intent is to hold it we're going to need reinforcements. I've submitted my recommendation of using The Red Widows to all of you. Questions?"

Moira McTaggert was the first to raise her hand. "If Princess Shuri is becoming such a problem, why don't we neutralize her like we did T'Challa?"

Alexander chuckled. "It took six months of planning to find a moment when T'Challa was most alone. We had to send in a whole team of Avengers and even then we still lost three of them before he finally went down. If his sister is anything like him, that's not an option we can consider right now."

Tony Stark was the next one with a question. Alexander had to fight the urge to crack his neck in anticipation of the man's sure to be arrogant question. "Why not use my Iron Man project for reinforcements? I have fifty pilots primed and ready to go into action. If I recall correctly, it was War Machine that proved pivotal in killing that smug African."

Alexander groaned inwardly. Tony only despised T'Challa so much because The Black Panther had proven his intellectual superior on numerous occasions since relations with The Wakandan Confederacy went down the tubes. "The Iron Men aren't battle tested and The Savage Land is a critical resource center. We can't afford to place our bets on them yet."

"And the Red Widows are washouts from The Red Room. They couldn't even graduate. So why would we want to use them?" Norman Osborn asked.

"Have you seen The Black Widow in action? The woman is terrifying. An army of women only a couple of steps below that isn't anything to laugh at in my book," Alexander said. He knew The Red Widows could get into The Savage Land and make a difference in the fight. He was sure of it.

"If we do authorize your usage of them, how do you intend on even transporting them in a timely manner?" Lord Shingen asked, sipping on a cup of tea. He was the only person in The Council meeting who habitually brought a beverage with him. "After all, the Wakandans are heavily guarding their coasts and their vibranium keeps us from hearing them or even picking up their ships on radar."

Alexander smiled. "We have a little project we're working on. It's called HERMES."

**Part Three- The Amazing X-Men**

The short, bald woman may not have looked it standing amongst a group of young men and women, but she was hands down the most powerful person in the dusty bunker. High-tech wiring ran all along the walls of the gray bunker leading to computers and targeting system. This place was one of the many safe houses belonging to the group of individuals known as the X-Men. Cassandra Xavier had come to meet the Red Squad on short, but important notice.

She was standing in the center of the room, surrounded by the seven mutants making up the squad. Cassandra looked at each of them and smiled in the way a grandmother baking cookies for you did. But they all knew she wasn't here for anything that sweet. "Hello my X-Men. I know you have all been eager to be assigned your next mission and I apologize for the delay."

Havok jabbed his older brother, Cyclops, in the ribs. "Well just glad you're here now. This guy was beginning to stink."

Cyclops scowled at his younger brother, his one remaining eye flashing red for a moment. "I think Cassandra would like to get to her point without interruption."

Cassandra nodded at the permission to continue. "As you all know, South America has long been hard for us to penetrate and establish any operations in."

Jubilee laughed. "Yea. Every freaking human down there thinks Sinister is the next messiah."

The contrast between the two Americas in Sinister's empire couldn't be more different. For humanity in what was once The United States and Canada, every day was a struggle. What had once been their homes had turned into a wasteland where they could be struck down by one of Sinister's soldiers any given moment. It was their resistance to Sinister's rule which prompted the cruel backlash and the changing of cities into warzones and prison camps.

South America, on the other hand, had welcomed Sinister with open arms. The people of that part of the world had long been subjected to corrupt and ineffective governments. And many of those people saw the hand of imperial America in their everyday lives. So the destruction of the American government by Sinister had been no great loss to them and when he came to their continent, he was seen by most as savior. As a man who brought order and prosperity. He rewarded them handsomely for their acceptance and obedience.

"The tide is beginning to change Jubilee. Slowly, but surely people there are waking up to the horrors of Sinister and how he has plunged the world into war. We have made contact with someone willing to help us establish a base of operations in Brazil," Cassandra said.

"Who?" Cyclops asked.

Cassandra produced an image of the contact in all of The Red Squad's minds. They saw a tall, muscular man outfitted in a black bodysuit and a black mask that had a large white spider imprinted on it. "His name is The Black Tarantula."

**Part Four- The Uncanny X-Men **

Candy Southern slid the jump drive across the bar table to Sabretooth and took a swig of her moonshine. "The White Sky Room is what it's called. Claims to be a neutral party in the all the fighting and makes weapons for whoever is able to pay the right amount of money. There are a lot of people making a lot of money off this global catastrophe."

Sabretooth slid the drive into his brown jacket and raised his glass in the air. "Sounds about right Candy. That's why I keep doing what I'm doing."

The bar they were in was in a back water part of Kentucky, one of many areas of Sinister's empire left ignored. It had been an easy matter for Sinister and his armies to do the conquering. But now having to actually manage all the land they had taken was another matter entirely. They couldn't watch everyone all the time and so little establishments like this bar popped up. A place where mutant and human could associate with one another without a threat of retaliation. At least for a short while and then the bar would just move to somewhere else.

"Not everyone in The Human High Council agrees with their policy on The X-Men. There are a lot of us who feel like you're doing good work. And places like The White Sky Room only serve to prolong this war."

Sabretooth nodded. "We took out Black Womb. We can take these guys down too."

Candy leaned forward in her chair. "My advice, don't let your team be the one to handle this op. Give it to Nightcrawler or Archangel."

"What you playing at here Candy? Something you're not telling me?"

"Omega White and Omega Black. My intelligence indicates that they both came from The White Sky Room."

Sabretooth leaned back in his chair and scratched a piece of food out from between his teeth. "Well, that sounds like a load of horse crap. Those two have memories. They had a life. They weren't born out of some vat."

"This place can generate memories. They're a lot more sophisticated about it than Weapon X or Black Womb ever was. They can build entities with a full range of memories so well that not even a telepath would notice the difference. You'd have to pull in your Cassandra to even be able to scratch the surface."

Sabretooth stood up. "I'll talk it over with Mags. Thanks for the info Candy. You take care of yourself out here. Ever since that explosion in Atlanta, Sinister's punks have been on edge."

Candy nodded. "I'll be fine. I have a feeling a reassignment is coming our way."

Sabretooth perked an eyebrow up and Candy laughed. "Pierce is trying to recall all us Red Widows back to Europe. God knows for what."

"Then if I don't see you again, it was a pleasure knowing you," Sabretooth said, holding out his massive hand. Candy took it, though it completely swallowed her own.


	4. Chapter 4

**X-Men: The Human/Mutant War**

**Chapter Two**

**Part One- The Fantastic X-Men**

Magneto pointed at the hologram of a young, emaciated African-American man with a bald head being mostly covered up by a dusty blue sweat cap. Looking at the hologram from their seats were Rogue and Gambit. "This mutant was identified in The Jerusalem prison camp just yesterday. His name on the grounds is Quiet Bill. He's a mutant capable of opening dimensional gateways."

"So you mean like going to other worlds?" Gambit asked, holding the hand of his wife just tight enough to let her know he loved her.

"That's exactly what I mean. And in three days time he's due to be delivered directly to Cairo to The Shadow King. If I had to take any kind of a guess, Farouk is probably going to make him into a new vessel," Magneto, waving a hand to make the hologram fade away. Conversing power was always paramount in all of The X-Men's bases.

"That sounds all bad," Rogue said. "If Farouk had that kind of power he could dwarf The Human High Council and The Wakandan Confederacy. He'd be able to tap into potentially unlimited resources."

Magneto nodded, his face stern as always. The years had been kind to him, preserving his youth and keeping him with a robust body. Demands of war and running The X-Men had provided Magneto with a vigorous amount of exercise. It also didn't hurt that his daughter's control of probabilities saw his body healed and renewed to a far greater degree than a normal person's should be able to.

"That is exactly why we can't allow this mutant to fall into The Shadow King's hands. I need the Ruby Squad to go in there, rescue this mission and get him to me for delivery to Asteroid M."

Gambit's expression darkened. "That's Jerusalem mon ami. You know how heavily guarded that place is. I may be a thief, but breaking into would require more than a few hours notice. I would need weeks to plan it out right."

"We don't have weeks," Magneto said. "But you will have a distraction."

"Well don't keep us in suspense sugah, what is it?" Rogue asked, getting the feeling that she wasn't going to enjoy Magneto's answer too particularly. The man only made personal appearances when he knew the missions could very likely get a whole team wiped out. He seemed to have the stomach for dishing those kind of missions out more than Cassandra.

"More intel indicates that this particular prison is going to suffer an attack from Ronan in a day's time."

Gambit let go of his wife's hand and jumped up from his seat. "Are you serious? That's your distraction! Sending me up against a guy who wants us dead!"

"He doesn't know you're coming. His mission is entirely different from yours. The Inhumans are not too happy with The Shadow King and we're going to use it to our advantage. Avoid Ronan, get Bill and get the hell out of there. That's how you succeed in all of this."

Gambit's fists clenched. "You make it sound so easy. What if Shadow King has gotten whiff of this Ronan attack and is prepared for it? What if he sends your son there?"

Magneto's cold face cracked for just a moment, showing the broken hearted father underneath. But just as fast the leader of the X-Men returned. "Pietro has made his choice. In the unlikely event he does get involved then treat him as you would any soldier of The Shadow King's. Indiscriminately."

**Part Two- The Council**

Alexander Pierce needed a drink after the meeting he had with The Council. He walked into his office with a glass of bourbon in his hand and waiting in his seat was The Captain. Pierce sighed, glad it wasn't some assassin, and closed the door behind him. He drunk some of his brown liquid and said, "You could try to make an appointment like everyone else Rogers."

Rogers completely ignored the request. "How'd it go? They agree to the use of The Red Widows?"

"Yes, though it was like pulling teeth to get Stark and Osborn to see my point of view on it. Luckily, I didn't even end up needing their votes. It appears Maria worked in our favor again," Pierce said, glad to have someone else who was former S.H.I.E.L.D. on The Council. Maria was a great deal more popular than him and had been able to finesse their fellow Council members before Pierce even arrived.

"Good," The Captain said, rising up from Pierce's chair. "General Fisk needs the help and I can't spare The Avengers for it."

"I'm sure Wilson will appreciate you thinking about him," Pierce said, finishing off his bourbon. "I can't believe I'm actually even having to convince anyone of the importance of winning The Savage Land. It'll give us weapons capable of matching The Wakandan Confederacy blow for blow."

"Fury has made sure that's not exactly public knowledge. If Farouk or Sinister or The Inhumans knew that's what we were fighting for in The Savage Land then all holy hell would break loose down there. It'd be a bloody free for all. The Wakandans are as happy to keep the secret as we are. So for now we keep this war between us."

Pierce could see how that would be troublesome, but there could also be an opportunity in it. "What if we did make it public knowledge and pulled back? Let the other three kingdoms tear at each other's throats and we swoop in on the leftovers?"

"We're soldiers Pierce. We're better than that."

Pierce shrugged. "Maybe you're right. So have you heard about The Ultron Project?"

Rogers frowned. "First The Sentinels, then the Iron Men and now this. We're relying too much on talking metal. I don't like it Pierce."

"Neither do I. Too much potential for error, but people are tired of their brothers and sisters dying in this war. Stark, Osborn and the others are pouncing on this. And stand to make a tremendous amount of money from it."

"This war should be run by the military. Keep these damn businessmen out of it," The Captain said.

"I agree with you. We need to set them up for a fall, but one that doesn't hurt the war effort. I have an idea in mind if you still have some time," Pierce said, having a seat and pressing his thumb against the ID scanner on his desk. Once confirmed, his drawer popped open and he pulled out a thick manila folder.

Rogers looked at the folder and smiled. "Taking down that smug bastard Stark is always something I have time for."

"Good. Because I've discovered he has connections to something called The White Sky Room."

**Part Three- The Uncanny X-Men**

"I'm tired of hunting my own kind," Moonstar said to Sabretooth, bending down to slide a knife into one of her combat boots.

Sabretooth had just come back from his bar business with Candy Southern and Moonstar was the first of his team he had told about what she said. "We do what we're told Dani. Mags and Cass have a plan. We dismantle Sinister first and we stand a better chance of bringing the rest to account."

Moonstar moved a string of hair from out of her face, the cool air of Chicago blowing into the underground base. "Do you really believe that Creed? If his best friend and her twin brother wasn't working for Sinister, do you really think we'd be putting so much effort into stopping him?"

"The White Sky Room is making mutants like factory pieces. We can't just let that keep going. Personal motivations or not."

Sabretooth knew what it was like to be exploited as a weapon. The former government agency known as Weapon X had made it their personal mission to make mutants into a private army. Creed was one of many mutants taken into their custody and molded into living weapons. True enough, Creed probably owed his survival in this world to that training, but he would have rather been given the choice.

"Why not try and use The White Sky Room? Make them our allies. We could use some more X-Men and it's hard to argue the effectiveness of Omega White and Omega Black," Moonstar said, putting in the code on a numeric pad to close the door to the underground base.

"Could you try and not tell everyone that?" Sabretooth said, shushing the younger X-Man. "I want to be the one to tell them. Some things just shouldn't be broadcast."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Moonstar said and looked around her. "So are you turning it for the night or you staying up to keep me some company?"

Creed wasn't crazy. He knew that Danielle was sweet on him. Normally, he wouldn't argue with having her for company. Everyone had needs, but Danielle was someone teetering on a ledge. Since the X-Men rescued her from Neverland, he had always wondered if they should have ever made her one of them. Danielle was good at what she did, knew her powers well and there were times even he was scared of what she was capable of. But it was for that reason he doubted her place here because of that level of competency mixed with a tinge of unpredictability.

"I need to read Candy's dossier. If we're really going to be taking on these guys then I need to know exactly what we're going to be dealing with here. Every detail," Sabretooth said.

"Sounds like the Weapon X talking," Moonstar said, leaning up against a support beam. She smirked at Creed. "You still need to show me some of those moves."

Sabretooth had little doubt that Danielle would catch on to anything that Weapon X taught him. She may not have his augmented senses or feral strength, but the girl was tough. Anyone that could walk out of Neverland and not be completely insane was a testament to the word.

"We'll get around to it," he said and then walked off.

**Part Four- The Shadow King**

Princess Ororo stood on the balcony, her hands gripping the marble rails as she looked out into the Cairo sunset. She could see and feel it all. The current of the wind, the temperature of the air, the percentage of humidity, the atmospheric pressure; all of it was open to her like a child flipping through a book. Every day since she was a small child, her Father had pushed her to explore her powers more and make herself into a better person.

The Shadow King, like any good Father, doted on his daughter, but he also had been working to shape her into someone who could lead his empire. She needed to be a beautiful knife, capable of cutting down people with her smile and her lightning. Such were the needs of a monarch, especially when their kingdom was besieged by war. Sinister and The Inhuman Nation were determined to tear down the paradise her Father had built. At least The Human High Council and The Wakandan Confederacy had the sense to leave them in peace.

"You could try and come to bed. I promise I'm not terrible company," Forge said, stepping out onto the balcony from their bedroom.

The Princess turned to her husband and laughed at his nakedness. "It's not even night yet and you would have me lay with you."

Forge shrugged. "How many chances do we have? The war rages and you know your Father needs me out there as much as possible."

Ororo knew her husband loved her and he was right, their time together had been growing shorter and shorter with the war becoming more intense as of late. But there was another part of Forge's request that wasn't just loving husband, but also dutiful soldier. The Shadow King wanted Storm to have a child, another potential heir to his throne in case of the worst happening. Ororo did not agree with his decision to make use of her body like some breeding pen.

Forge frowned. "Look, I know you don't want one. That's ok with me."

"My Father is under a lot of pressure. He has enemies knocking at his door so I can see why he would be a bit paranoid. But I'm not going anywhere and neither is he."

Forge moved forward and hugged his wife at her waist and kissed her one time on the neck. Sunlight bathed them. "He's privy to things we aren't. He sees the bigger picture here. So maybe there's something out there that really does have him worried. Maybe some new mutant or who knows what?"

Princess Ororo bit her bottom lip and sighed. "Well all of this might be a moot point anyway."

"Why?" Forge asked, his eyebrow perking up in turn.

"Because I think I'm pregnant."

**Part Five- The Council**

Montague Hale drummed his fingers across Lord Shingen's desk. "I thought you were supposed to be making things happen for me. Why haven't The Sons of the Serpent been allowed to enter this war yet? My people want a piece of all that gear S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers are getting."

"Yes, you have many wants," Shingen smiled, taking a sip of his hot tea and letting the steam travel up his nose. The peppermint aroma was invigorating. "But what you want does not always match up with reality."

Montague pushed his lips to one side of his face and sat back in his chair. The 40-something, African-American sat his hands on his lap and clasped them together. "So what is the reality Shingen? That you can't live up to your promises?"

Shingen sat down his tea and with reflexes too quick for someone his age, he had a sword at Montague's throat. "I am a man of my word Mr. Hale. I intend to get your people into this war, but there is a matter that has to be taken care of first."

Montague's neck tensed against the blade of the sword. He barely wanted to speak. "And what's that?"

Shingen pulled back the weapon and sat down in his seat. He gave Montague a polite smile and took a sip of his tea. "We need to kill Alexander Pierce."

Author Note: If you ever want to know who any of these characters are just drop me a PM and I'll make sure to include bio links in the next chapter.


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